LONE PINE, Calif. - An Inyo County official and an environmental activist stepped into wobbly kayaks on Saturday to gauge the prospects of developing a "paddling experience" that would float people down the eastern Sierra Nevada's Lower Owens River. To Larry Freilich, Inyo County Water Department mitigation manager, and George Wolfe, founder of L.A. River Expeditions, the Lower Owens' lazy loops, oxbows and wetlands - habitat for elk, bobcats and waterfowl - and rugged, wide-open scenery are reason enough to make such voyages worthwhile.

LONE PINE, Calif. - An Inyo County official and an environmental activist stepped into wobbly kayaks on Saturday to gauge the prospects of developing a "paddling experience" that would float people down the eastern Sierra Nevada's Lower Owens River. To Larry Freilich, Inyo County Water Department mitigation manager, and George Wolfe, founder of L.A. River Expeditions, the Lower Owens' lazy loops, oxbows and wetlands - habitat for elk, bobcats and waterfowl - and rugged, wide-open scenery are reason enough to make such voyages worthwhile.

Inyo County and Los Angeles took a big step toward peace in their long-running water war Friday, unveiling a new agreement to protect Owens Valley plant life and also allow Los Angeles to pump more ground water in some years. If finally approved, the plan could also soothe feelings about the decades-old presence of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the high desert valley, east of the Sierra Nevada range about 230 miles north of the city line.

Inyo County and Los Angeles took a big step toward peace in their long-running water war Friday, unveiling a new agreement to protect Owens Valley plant life and also allow Los Angeles to pump more ground water in some years. If finally approved, the plan could also soothe feelings about the decades-old presence of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the high desert valley, east of the Sierra Nevada range about 230 miles north of the city line.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday that said it is investigating why hundreds of smallmouth bass have been found floating belly up in a stretch of the Lower Owens River just south of the eastern Sierra community of Lone Pine. “We are working with our own biologists and multiple agencies to determnine what happened and why,” Fish and Wildlife Lt. William Bailey said. “We're also looking at permits and agreements governing uses of that river.” The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which manages the Lower Owens River, believes the fish suffocated from a lack of dissolved oxygen caused by mud and debris flows triggered by unusually heavy rains and flash-flooding in the Owens Valley region during the week of July 22. However, local environmentalists and fishing enthusiasts point out that the inclement weather coincided with scheduled maintenance and repair work that required draining a five-mile-long section of the nearby Los Angeles Aqueduct.

A long-delayed plan to put water back into the lower Owens River in the eastern Sierra reached its first major milestone Friday with the release of an environmental study of the project. Officials hope to have the water flowing by early 2004.

Vehement Owens Valley opposition has forced new talks on the major water agreement reached in principle in March by the city of Los Angeles and Inyo County, officials on both sides said Wednesday. The Inyo County Board of Supervisors had been scheduled to approve the agreement Tuesday, but instead the board reopened negotiations with Los Angeles after listening for weeks to strong objections from Owens Valley ranchers and residents. Any agreement will have to include more environmental protections for Owens Valley, officials there said.

After more than a year of trying to resolve differences over water exports to Los Angeles from the Owens Valley, talks have collapsed between the city of Los Angeles and several state agencies and environmental groups, officials said Monday. The impasse, reached late last week, virtually ensures another court squabble over environmental concerns in the eastern Sierra Nevada basin where Los Angeles has drawn most of its drinking water since 1913.

The city of Los Angeles acknowledged Friday that its Department of Water and Power has inflicted serious environmental harm on the remote Owens Valley, the city's main source of water since 1913. In a study prepared to satisfy a 17-year-old court ruling, Los Angeles admitted that wetlands and springs have dried up in the Eastern Sierra valley, and that trees and brush have died of thirst on more than 1,000 acres.

Angered by delays in restoring the long-dry lower Owens River, two conservation groups asked a judge to halt the exportation of ground water from the Owens Valley in eastern California by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The action, if approved by Inyo County Superior Court Judge Edward Denton, would represent a substantial hit to the city's water supplies. In most years, the DWP sends at least 15,000 acre-feet of ground water--or 4.

Lone Pine stinks. Thousands of dead fish are rotting along the nearby Owens River, and more are dying every day. Cause of death: oxygen depletion of the water caused by new, heavy flows bringing alkaline silt and organic material into the habitat. The fish are suffocating. Dan Harris, who runs Slater Sporting Goods in Lone Pine, said: "As far as I'm concerned, that ends the bass fishing in this area."

Albacore may not be cooperating fully with fishermen aboard San Diego's huge fleet of sportfishers, but the bite is improving and schools of large bluefin tuna have moved into waters reachable by the overnight boats. Two weeks ago, the Pronto brought in the season's first bigeye tuna--three fish at 85 pounds apiece--and since then the bluefins have become the primary attraction, with many in the 40- to 50-pound class.